One way to build chemistry is off-the-court activities like golf, and they played in Slovenia after Austin Reaves essentially got the entire team hooked. Then, when the players got back to L.A., the Lakers Youth Foundation Golf Tournament took place at Pechanga Resort Casino and the team’s YouTube channel released highlights from it:

Notable names in attendance were Bronny James, Ziaire Williams, Collin Sexton, Jaden Hardy, Kevon Looney, Sandro Mamukelashvili and two-time champion Sasha Vujacic. It is encouraging to see the newest players get out on the green to enjoy time together and experience community events in their new city.

With training camp kicking off at the end of the month, it becomes a marathon for the players. Building chemistry becomes harder to do during an 82-game season, but having the new acquisitions be a part of events like this ahead of time is definitely beneficial.

Williams, in particular, spent time his with former Sierra Canyon teammate, James, and they looked to be enjoying their day out on the course. Golfing is not an easy sport and most of these Lakers have been trying to get into this hobby with James thriving right away.

This surely will not be the last time the Lakers come together on a course. Time will tell if anyone can challenge the likes of Reaves, who is the best golfer on the team currently and maybe even the entire NBA.

Byron Scott believes Lakers had most overrated offseason

Championship expectations remain in place for the Lakers despite LeBron James’ departure and it is up to Doncic to pave the way.

When evaluating Los Angeles’ offseason, franchise legend Byron Scott gave his take and doesn’t appear to be too impressed with the moves Rob Pelinka made. His podcast co-host believes the Lakers will win 58 games this season, while Scott thinks L.A. had the most overrated offseason.

“The Lakers. The team that you said was going to win 58 games. I think they had the most overrated offseason,” Scott said on the Fast Break podcast. “I’m just keeping it real. I’m purple and gold down to the core. But, I mean, everybody was talking about all these great (additions) — no, I just don’t see it yet.”

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Watching how the Arkansas native handles this new role will be intriguing to see, but he looks to be putting in work to live up to these added responsibilities. Collin Sexton recently got into the practice facility with him and came away impressed with Reaves’ leadership and work ethic.

“Each and every day when he’s in the gym, he’s ready to work. No complaints out of him. He’s one of the leaders on the team and he comes in with the attitude of pushing each other, but also allowing players to push him,” Sexton said on the Lakers’ X account. “So, it’s fun to be around him and his competitive nature has been cool too. That’s his one thing, he impacts winning and he impacts the game in so many different ways. I definitely look forward to playing with him just being out there on the court with him, he’s a scorer, a passer and being able to play with someone that’s very unselfish but also can score the ball as well.”

This is a positive review from Sexton and encouraging to hear Reaves taking this upcoming season seriously in terms of being a leader. Obviously, eyes will focus on Doncic upholding his end of the bargain as a No. 1 option, but it appears that the 28-year-old knows what is expected from him as he is now the longest-tenured player on the team.

With nine newcomers, there needs to be a foundation set by Reaves, Doncic and JJ Redick to establish a team identity. Hopefully, Doncic and Reaves can help pave the way for their new teammates that translates into winning basketball.

Austin Reaves embracing leadership role

With LeBron James’ departure in free agency, Reaves knows he needs to be more of a vocal leader for the Lakers moving forward as one of the veterans and is embracing that challenge.

“Everybody knows it’s a completely different team and there’s gonna be different things asked of different people. And if that’s what JJ and the staff ask of me I’ll do it to the best of my abilities,” Reaves said earlier this offseason.

While the Lakers are filled with youthful, energetic players, having a vocal leader like Reaves on the floor will be crucial.

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Doncic started his professional basketball career in Madrid and quickly earned a reputation as one of the best players in the NBA after coming over to the States. Being a pro at such a young age is definitely challenging, but Doncic feels it has led to him growing and maturing faster than most.

“I mean, obviously there’s differences. But like I said before, probably a better basketball player, more mature,” Doncic said in an interview with SLAM. “But like I say, play basketball the same way with a smile on my face, not much.”

Despite only playing one full season with the Lakers to the point, fans and teammates quickly saw Doncic’s animated personality as an NBA player. He loves talking trash to his opponents and finding ways to keep a competitive edge.

During his tenure with the Dallas Mavericks, Doncic led them to a 2024 NBA Finals appearance and unfortunately came up short to the Boston Celtics. Critiques surrounded his leadership, or lack thereof, and whether he can be a championship player, but it is clear that he grew from that experience.

Entering the prime of his career, it will be intriguing to monitor Doncic’s maturity and how he steps up into a leadership role for the Lakers. No one can deny his offensive talent as a walking triple-double, but more importantly, his ability to lead a team to a championship will be key moving forward and he seems to be up to the task.

Jaden Hardy ‘super excited’ to play with Luka Doncic again

Quentin Grimes and Jaden Hardy are two of the newest Lakers players who previously had a chance to play with Doncic on the Mavericks. Specifically for Hardy, he came in as a second-round draft pick and got to learn what it takes to be an NBA-caliber guard.

Now that he has years of experience under his belt and got to showcase flashes of offensive talent with the Washington Wizards, the 24-year-old is ‘super excited’ to play alongside Doncic again.

“So, I reached out to him and told him how excited I was to be back with him, playing alongside him and how I couldn’t wait to get back into the gym with him and put some work in. He got back, told me welcome, how excited he was and for sure we’re going to put some good work in.”

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Now, Lakers legend Byron Scott has joined in the choir as he isnot quite sold on this new-look roster around Luka Doncic. It is too early to predict whether L.A. will be good or bad, but Scott does not see how they can be a Western Conference elite.

“The Lakers. The team that you said was going to win 58 games. I think they had the most overrated offseason,” Scott said on the Fast Break podcast. “I’m just keeping it real. I’m purple and gold down to the core. But, I mean, everybody was talking about all these great (additions) — no, I just don’t see it yet.”

Scott’s co-host’s prediction of 58 wins definitely seems to be on the optimistic side, but there definitely is an expectations for L.A. to be a playoff team and compete for a championships in the new future.

In order to do that, the Lakers will need to stay healthy and gel as a group. Last year, the team did not reach its peak until March and then again injuries derailed that positive momentum heading into the postseason.

For how much roster turnaround there was this summer, Los Angeles will need time to iron out roles with Doncic and Austin Reaves leading the way. Reaves will need to prove that he is capable of being a No. 2 option on a team trying to win a championship, and the rest of the roster will need to fall into place after that.

Scott provided reasonable pushback, but as many fans would agree, he needs to see what they look like on a basketball court before truly judging this team. Opinions continue to vary in terms of how good the Lakers will be this season, so time will tell and hopefully, they can surprise people.

Byron Scott concerned about Lakers’ defense going into 2026-27 season

Another talking point surround the Lakers is the lack of defensive personnel on the roster as they seem to lack perimeter defenders. While Walker Kessler possesses elite rim protection, L.A. needs to figure out a scheme when it comes to containing the perimeter.

That is part of Scott’s think as he recently expressed his concern about the Lakers’ defense as NBA champions typically rank in the top 10 in both offense and defense, which will be a challenge for the purple and gold.

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The latest to give their all-time starting five is Hall of Famer and cultural icon Allen Iverson, who was the most popular player in the NBA for a very long time and faced off against many of the greats this league has seen. And he included both Bryant and O’Neal in his group that he revealed on his Instagram page:

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A post shared by Allen Iverson (@theofficialai3)

It’s no coincidence that Iverson’s list is full of players that he faced off against during his illustrious career. Of course, he famously led the Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA Finals in 2001 where they took on Bryant, O’Neal and the Lakers with his Game 1 performance in that series still holding up as one of the greatest in NBA Finals history, and the lone loss for L.A.’s legendary playoff run.

Michael Jordan is almost a guarantee for anyone making an all-time starting five and Iverson’s first major highlight as a rookie came at the expense of him when he fooled the legend with his iconic crossover and knocked down a jumper.

James being on Iverson’s list is also something to be expected as he is a pick of most players and the two shared the court in plenty of battles over the years.

Stephen Curry being Iverson’s final choice is a bit interesting as the latter’s final NBA season was the former’s rookie year. The two did face each other, but Curry was not close to becoming the all-time great that he would eventually turn into while Iverson was at the tail end. Even still, the Hall of Famer clearly has so much respect for what Curry became and his impact on the league that he made sure to include him, and deservedly so.

Richard Sherman discusses his relationship with Lakers legend Kobe Bryant

Iverson has been one of the most outspoken players about the greatness of Bryant and making sure his legend remains in the forefront of basketball history. But Bryant had excellent relationships with a number of athletes across all sports and one of those is former NFL All-Pro Richard Sherman, who recently opened up about his relationship with the Lakers icon.

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